A family is struggling to rebuild their reputation because of a grocery store’s false accusations.

Employees at the Safeway in Lincoln City handed a video of an innocent woman and her stepdaughter to police, claiming it was footage of a shopper who paid with a stolen credit card.

Several news outlets had published the innocent family’s photos, reported them as potential criminals, before police issued a statement clearing them of any wrongdoing.

The Sun Times Network in Portland, Fox 12, The Oregon Coast Daily News, The News Guard, Facebook  and Google all posted photos of the family, reporting on accusations that they were the same two women who had used stolen credit cards at Safeway and at the Chinook Winds Casino.

But it was simply a case of mistaken identity. The store had given police the wrong footage.

And the police statement supposedly clearing their name also hurt the family’s reputation by implying that they told police the identities of the real criminals. The statement said the mother and stepdaughter went to police and “assisted” with the investigation, helping police identify new suspects.

Kafoury & McDougal filed a $425,000 lawsuit on the mother’s behalf. If your rights have been violated by a store that falsely accused you of doing something wrong, call Kafoury & McDougal.  We’ll fight to clear your name.

Additional Information

The Oregonian article

KOIN 6 article